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Viewing report
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Teenage Magazines Market Assessment 2007
Key Note Publications Ltd, April 2007
The teenage magazines market is under threat from a number of sources. As well as the fact that the teenage population is falling, the nature of teenagers, and of the way in which they spend their leisure time, is also changing.
Ironically, the `Kids Getting Older Younger` (KGOY) phenomenon, which refers to the growing sophistication of those in their early teenage and sub-teenage years, and which was partly responsible for the development of the teenage magazines market, is now one of the things that is threatening it. Rather than reading magazines created especially for their age group, young teenagers are turning to women's lifestyle glossies and celebrity magazines aimed at older readers.
Another problem is that young teenagers now have many more claims on their pocket money — for example: clothes, which have become cheaper generally and are now affordable for many individuals in their early teens; mobile telephones; and music downloads.
However, perhaps the biggest threat to the market comes from other forms of entertainment, notably the Internet, but also television and radio. Teenagers are now able to access information about music, and the other things that interest them, almost instantly through the Internet, television and mobile telephones, and traditional teenage magazines struggle to compete with this trend.
Most magazines within the sector have responded by creating their own online presence, and some have extended their brands into television and/or radio. However, circulation figures for the traditional magazines continue to decline.
A number of high-profile companies cut back their presence in the teenage magazines sector, and/or left it altogether, during 2006. Those that have left the market include the two biggest UK magazine companies, IPC Media Ltd and Emap PLC. At the same time, there have been new entrants to the market, including Panini UK Ltd and Hubert Burda Media. A further new entrant is expected in April 2007 with the introduction of Popworld Pulp from customer magazine publisher Brooklands Group.
Our exclusive consumer research revealed that respondents were in no doubt about the degree of influence that teenage magazines have on their readers. However, they were also aware of the power of the Internet, with nearly half agreeing that most teenage girls prefer to spend time on the Internet rather than reading magazines, and almost two-thirds saying that this is the case for teenage boys. Nevertheless, approximately a third of the sample agreed that most teenage girls enjoy reading magazines as much as, or more than, using the Internet.
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